


Hooked

by Lhugy_for_short



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Captive merman, Eventual Happy Ending, Falling In Love, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Intersex, M/M, Mer!Prompto, Mer-bits, Mind the updated rating
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-25
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 20:21:26
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 14,778
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26104870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lhugy_for_short/pseuds/Lhugy_for_short
Summary: When Gladio is sent to investigate claims about a mer-creature found near the coast, he's initially beyond skeptical. Fairy tale monsters don't exist, and theydefinitelyaren't worth his time.Unless they're sweet, and charming, and just a little bit flirtatious...and desperately in need of his help. Then how can a mere land lubber like him be expected to resist?
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Prompto Argentum
Comments: 20
Kudos: 97





	1. Fish Man

**Author's Note:**

> Another submission for Promptio Week 2020!! This started as a prompt fill for Day 2, "Captivity," but is going to end up spanning several days this week lol. A) I have no self control and B) I'm still writing the ending so.... please be patient. 
> 
> Anyway, enjoy Part One of Gladio's GayFish awakening, and _oh yes there will be smut_ \-- so stay tuned for that :)

Talk of the creature had spread to Insomnia all the way from the Cape. 

When Gladio first heard the news, he didn't believe it. What fool in their right mind would? A hybrid beast, half human, half fish, with sentience enough to try and communicate with its captors? It sounded to him like the fishermen at the coast were all getting a bit too much sun to the brain. 

The issue would likely have ended there, if not for an interest in the matter taken by the young king. Noctis, who'd held a curiosity for all things strange and supernatural since he was a small boy, organized a team with the intention of investigating the claim. Gladio, as head of the Royal Crownsguard in his father's stead, was asked to go to Caem in person. 

"Wonderful," he'd rolled his eyes when Noct handed down the order. "I love digging around in fish guts." 

"No, Gladio. This isn't a request for an autopsy. I want you to meet the creature, study him alive if you can. Discover everything you can about how he lives, where he came from." 

"' _ He,'  _ Your Majesty?" 

The king shrugged, and leaned back in his throne. "Just a guess. Find that out, too, if you can." 

Thus the expedition was off, led by General Amicitia and staffed with a bare-bones crew of scientists, researchers, and scholars from the Citadel's vast library. They were all of them strangers to Gladio, who was far more comfortable in the presence of soldiers than academics. Better to have sent Ignis, he thought, or even Cor Leonis. They might have at least had something to talk about on the long journey south. 

As it was, the two days they spent on chocobo back, trotting across the plains of Leide and Duscae under the blazing sun, were long. The hours passed in silence, save for the warking of the birds and the occasional roar of a monster in the distance.  _ Those _ were likely the reason Noctis had ultimately chosen him for the expedition. If a pack of sabertooths, or a rogue behemoth, or even daemons in the dark of night decided to attack their party, it would be up to  _ him _ to protect them all. 

Of course, slicing up some overgrown fish-man for dinner might just get to be a perk of the job. 

They arrived at the king's cottage at Cape Caem hot, a little sunburned, but otherwise no worse for the wear. While the rest of the team began unloading their equipment - did they  _ really _ need so many bags? - Gladio gladly took charge of stabling the birds. It was a distraction, something to keep his hands busy where he otherwise felt rather useless. Out in the open plains had been one thing. But what did a military man know of studying weird fairy tale creatures? Noctis had asked him to bring back as much information as he could, including whether or not the claims were real, but he fully intended to leave the actual research to the professionals. 

The team was still setting up inside the cottage when a strange woman came up from the coast. She was old, her face wrinkled by time and the sun, but her eyes were deep with the wisdom of a lifetime at sea. Ezma was her name. A strong, good name, she said. She'd been on the ship that had first found the fish creature.  _ Mermaid,  _ she called it, but Gladio, who leaned against the wall with his arms crossed while she spoke, merely scoffed.  _ Chocobo shit _ was more like it. 

"Where is the creature now?" one of the scientists asked. 

Ezma nodded. "Safe. He's in the village down the way." 

"We'd like to have a look at it right away. An official request from King Noctis to determine the validity of the rumors." 

"It's no rumor. I've spent sixty years in the water," Ezma said. Her voice was firm, her conviction clear. "I've not seen anything like him before in all my life. We thought we'd found a lost sailor when we first saw his arms flailing in the waves. 'Rescue him!' I told our captain. 'Pull him out!' But when we did…. Why, my first thought was that he'd been half swallowed by a shark!" 

"So it's just the lower half that's all fishy?" Gladio asked, already laughing at the absurdity. "Does it have pretty scales and a fin, too? Does it blow bubbles and flop around on the beach?" 

The woman's sharp gaze snapped on him, wiped the mocking smile right off his face. "You think me a blind old fool, perhaps? Come see him for yourself. Then you can run back to your castle, and tell your king there are still things left in this world we can't begin to understand."

It was settled. Begrudgingly, Gladio tagged along behind the team as Ezma led them to the shore. There, a small fishing village stretched along the upper part of the beach, houses made of reeds and woven nets. Boats lined the edge of the water, most only large enough for one or two passengers at a time. Fishing equipment - nets, poles, hand-made buckets - littered the beach wherever the eye could see. 

Ezma led them into a building further down, bigger than the other homes but still dark and cramped inside. The others went in first. There was an unusual silence surrounding them, a hushed sort of awe that fell as those in the front got a look at wherever Ezma was pointing. Then, their silence turned to excited clamor. 

"Would you look at that!" 

"Unbelievable! Incredible!" 

"It's the find of the century! No, of  _ two  _ centuries!" 

From the door, where the hot sun still beat down on his back from outside, Gladio craned his neck to see what the commotion was about. Inside the room, dark with shadows to his unadjusted eyes, he could see there was a metal tub about the size of two normal ones, rusted around the sides and leaking. Inside, he saw…a pale arm. Blond hair. Ripples in the surface of the water as whoever was in the tub shrank away from the unexpected crowd. 

"Quiet, all of you lot! Have some respect." Ezma frowned deeply as she began to shoo them out one by one. "You're scaring the poor boy!" 

"We'll need to take the specimen with us," one scientist said.

"For research. Official royal business," another agreed. 

"Like hell you are.  _ Specimen _ , hah! He belongs here, near the sea." Pushing past Gladio, Ezma continued to argue with the researchers out onto the beach. A heated discussion which Gladio might have had some opinions about, had he not finally gotten a clear view of the young man in the tank, and promptly forgotten how to breathe. 

Calling him a 'man' was a bit hasty, but he sure did look like one from the waist up. He had soft, freckled skin and a flat chest. Delicate collar bones leading to a slender neck, and the most beautiful face Gladio had ever laid eyes on - human or otherwise. Perhaps the only clue that anything was amiss (at least, above the water) was the distinct sea-foam green glow in the man's eyes.

Under the water, however, was a different story entirely. As Gladio stepped closer, caution keeping his movements slow, steady, he could see the fish-like tail curled around the edges of the makeshift tank. Orange, yellow, red; scales that glinted in the dim light of the thatched hut with every subtle swish. The tip fanned out into a paper-thin fin. There was so much of it, that tail must have been about a meter and a half - maybe more - long, and Gladio couldn't help but notice how uncomfortable the young man seemed to be in the confined space. 

" _ Shiva's tits, _ " he exhaled softly. A mermaid. A real, honest-to-gods mermaid. Mer…man? Mer-person? He wondered, almost hysterically, what their kind preferred to be called. It probably wasn't important. What  _ was  _ important, at least to him in that exact moment, was seeing if the creature could communicate. 

"Uh. Hello," Gladio tried first, and raised his hands in front of him the way he'd been taught to approach a wild chocobo. "Can you understand me?" 

In the tank, the mer-creature affected a pout. His pretty lips curved down in confusion, as his eyes continued to watch Gladio with a wary sort of interest. 

"Okay, uh. I'll take that as a no. Can you make any sounds at all? Sort of like… _ glub glub. _ " He put his hands to either side of his face, puffed his cheeks up and squeezed his lips together in his best impression of a puffer fish. It was ridiculous, true, and felt a little like how he used to coax his baby sister out of her room when she was upset. Of course, this creature looked nothing like Iris, but Gladio didn't know what else to try. 

Though the merman continued to say nothing, he was now watching Gladio in a mix of surprise and amusement. And was he…smiling? It was hard to tell, so Gladio kept going. 

"How about this one?" This time, he crossed his eyes and frowned deeply, bringing both hands up scissor-like to either side of his face. " _ Look at me, I'm a stupid crab. Snap snap, don't cook me!"  _

Okay, so now he wasn't even really trying. But he'd already guessed the merman couldn't talk, so he was hoping for the next best thing.  _ Laughter _ . 

That faint smile stretched wider, and then it happened. Glowing green eyes squeezed shut as the merman grinned, a sort of wheezing laugh bubbling up from behind teeth sharper than Gladio had been expecting. His freckled shoulders shook, and his tail knocked against the side of the tub a few times as if in applause. 

To hell with scholars, Gladio thought proudly to himself. Who else could claim to have told a mermaid a joke? 

"Alright, one more. Ready?" Pale fingers gripped the edge of the tub, and the human-ish half of the creature leaned eagerly closer to watch. "Bet you can't guess what this one is." 

Gladio slowly raised a hand to the top of his head, fingers pointed straight up in the threatening shape of an unmistakable fin. He crouched lower, began to sway in front of the tank as if searching, searching…. The merman's eyes widened. His pink lips began to tremble. Gladio took a step closer, then another, right up to the rusted edge of the tub where the smell of sea water was almost overpowering. Then, in a sudden rush, stretched both arms wide like a giant mouth full of razor sharp teeth, and brought them crashing together again between himself and the tank. "Hah!" 

The merman didn't quite scream. Maybe he couldn't verbalize after all, because when his mouth opened in terror no sounds actually came out. But he lept back against the far side of the tub in a frightened panic anyway. His tail slapped the water in a desperate attempt to escape, his fingers scratching at the metal blocking his path. 

"S-shoot! Sorry, I'm sorry!" Gladio could hear the team already rushing back inside the hut at the commotion. He held his hands up again, trying to soothe the creature. "It's okay, it's okay! There aren't any sharks here, I'm sorry!" 

"General Amicitia? What's happened, why is it distressed?" Two of the scholars rushed past him to the tank. They already had tools out, ready to take records of the merman's behavior. "Did something frighten it?" 

"I. Uh, I think I did. I was just trying to help." Dejectedly, he watched the poor creature flail around in fright, as Ezma very angrily pushed them all back out of the hut. 

* * *

The team had a new tank built by the next afternoon. Four glass panels attached to form a box, not much bigger around than the rusty tub the village had provided. But it was taller, big enough for a man to stand at full height inside, and the water could be cleaned and replaced easily with a system of tubes. It might not be the wide open sea, but it was as good a cage a captive merman could hope for. 

Ezma was not present when they wheeled the creature up the coast, that night under the cover of darkness. Had she been there, she might have resisted, might have fought them off with more choice words about where they could shove their royal decrees. Gladio thought maybe he understood. How would he feel if some strange, two-legged monsters poked and prodded and stuck  _ him  _ full of needles in the name of science? 

Yet, there was little he could do from afar. The research team insisted he leave them to their work in peace. After the fiasco at the village, they clearly thought a bumbling soldier like himself had no place in a laboratory. And most likely they were right. Every time he thought about the panicked look on the merman's face, those beautiful eyes so wide in fear because of him, he felt the guilt ache right down to his gut. 

But Gladio was only human. Guilt and curiosity were both powerful forces, and he could only resist them for so long. It was impossible, after all, to sit upstairs all day knowing that just below his feet a being right out of myth was swimming around in a makeshift fishbowl. Could it really hurt to take another peek in the tank? If he kept his hands to himself this time, how much harm could he actually do? 

Temptation won out. He waited until late, after the team had settled in for the night, to sneak down into the basement of the cottage on his own

It was mostly dark down there, save for an eerie, shimmering light emanating from the tank in the center of the room. All around, he could see hand-drawn diagrams, tubes, surgical knives, and alchemy packets smelling strongly of herbs littering the tables. All very important and technical, no doubt, but to him, it just seemed a cluttered mess. 

None of that was why he had come, though. His attention was drawn naturally to the tank, the one that held the almost ethereal form of the creature - the merman - floating serenely in its water. Sleeping, by the looks of it. Those gorgeous eyes were closed, his soft head of hair pillowed on his arms as if suspended on clouds. Even his tail was calm, swishing only occasionally like a cat might flick its tail in a dream. 

Gladio carefully approached the glass.  _ Gods, _ he thought. How could any one creature be so mysterious and so captivatingly beautiful at the same time? He let his gaze drift down the length of that elegant body. Admired the details in the tail he'd missed before, like the way golden scales glinted almost silver in the tank's low light. The way the fin, yellow and opaque as stained glass, danced feather-like with even the most subtle movements of the water.

He might have stayed like that all night, spellbound by the figure on display before him. Content to simply observe, to study, to admire. But, as if sensing the intensity of the gaze watching him, sea-foam green eyes fluttered open from slumber. The merman blinked. Caught sight of Gladio standing there, so close to his cage, and startled back to the far side of the glass. 

"Not again…! It's okay, honest." His own heart suddenly pounding, Gladio took a step back, hands raised in as disarming a pose as he could manage. And he offered what he hoped was a winning smile. "See, I'm not here to hurt you. Sorry about last time. I guess I should've known better." 

Gradually, the sound of his steady voice coaxed the merman away from the corner where he'd pressed himself. Slowly, slender arms hugging around his naked body, he floated back to the center of the tank. Though still wary, it seemed he couldn't help but be as curious about Gladio as Gladio was about him. 

"There you go. Don't worry, it's alright. Can you…hear me through there?" 

A quizzical turn of the head. Gladio huffed out a laugh. "Well, we can still try it like this, I guess. Uh, I'm Gladiolus. Gla-di-o," he said, making sure to exaggerate the movements of his mouth. He repeated his name again, pointing to his face. "Now you try." 

Bubbles rushed out in a comical display when the merman attempted to copy the sounds on Gladio's voice. It was…quite cute, really. His face scrunched up in concentration, his tongue stumbled over the unfamiliar shapes. All of his efforts resulted in a kind of rhythmic glubbing that, when finished, brought a wide, proud smile to his freckled cheeks. 

Gladio smiled, too. He couldn't help it. There was something magical about sharing a thing as simple as a name with this incredible being. Hells, he hadn't even believed mermaids existed before this, and here he was getting to share this moment with him. He'd never been so glad to be so wrong. 

Against the glass, the merman tapped his finger twice. Then he pointed to himself, and tapped again in the same way. Gladio thought he understood. "Your name? Is that what you're trying to say?" He edged forward to get a better look at the subtle movements of the merman’s mouth, until his face was pressed almost to the glass. “ _ P...Pah...Prom. _ ..Prompto?”

A cheeky smile. The merman pinched his fingers together.  _ Close enough. _ Gladio laughed with amazement. “Prompto. Not exactly my idea of a name for a fish, but….  _ O-okay,  _ sorry, sorry!” More water was flung over the top of the tank to splash him, and he laughed as he held up his arms in surrender. “It’s a nice name! And you’re not a fish. You’re...I can’t really explain it, but you’re gorgeous.” 

Eyes softened, all the greens and blues of the oceans swimming in them. Maybe the merman -  _ Prompto  _ \- could understand his language after all. Or maybe it was a lucky guess. But when he floated closer to the glass, and once more hummed the sound of Gladio’s voice in the form of bubbles from his lips, there was no mistaking the affection there. Prompto laid his left hand against the wall of the tank, fingers splayed, until it was clear he wanted Gladio to do the same. 

The glass was cool to the touch, almost cold, but he didn’t shy away. He flattened his palm over Prompto’s, and let his fingers spread into place to match. His own hand was much larger than the merman’s, his fingers rougher and more calloused by training and battle. His hands were made to hold swords, while Prompto’s were, well. Different. They were slender, more dexterous. The longer he stared at his fingers, his wrist, his arm, he felt the overwhelming desire to touch. To reach down into the water and experience just for himself what it was like. 

Embarrassed, he shook the thought from his head.  _ Don't be an idiot,  _ he chastised himself.  _ And don't get distracted _ . 

"There's…something I've been wanting to ask you. Maybe you can help me understand. Where…did you come from?" 

Prompto blinked wide, crystalline eyes. 

"Let me try again." Gladio used his free hand to gesture, pointing vaguely in the direction of  _ outside. _ "Your home. You came from the sea." He made a swimming motion, to which Prompto responded with a laugh in recognition. "Good, right. Swimming, okay? Where, exactly, in the sea are you from?" 

Again, the merman looked at him confused. This was getting him nowhere, but they'd already made so much progress and he was damned if he was going to give up now. He did have one more idea, though it was admittedly a stretch. "Okay, how about this?" 

The cold glass was perfect. He cupped his hands against it for a moment, and Prompto pressed in closer to see what his human was up to. He was taken aback when Gladio, opening his mouth between his palms, blew a breath of warm air at the tank, and temporarily clouded up the glass.

“Okay, here’s a map of Lucis,” he said carefully, index finger dragging through the condensation in a vague outline of the continent as he remembered it. “We’re here now - this is called Cape Caem. And I came all the way from here--” 

Prompto’s eyes followed the line his fingers walked across the crude map, until he came to a stop at the northernmost corner. He tapped the glass with pride. “Insomnia. My home.” Gladio smiled through the tank at the mystified merman. “How about you?” 

For a moment, when Prompto didn’t move, he thought perhaps this idea had been a bit too optimistic after all. But then the merman swam in close to the map, and began to trace the tip of his finger south from the inside of the glass. Down, down, far beyond the fading circle of condensation to an imaginary point on his own mental map. He stopped, and tapped the spot the way he’d seen Gladio do. 

“Wow. That’s got to be out past Accordo, at least. How did you get all the way up here, then?”

This time, he didn’t wait for Prompto's confused expression. Instead, he blew a fresh cloud with his breath onto the glass, this time starting further out at sea. He quickly sketched out the shape of a boat, and a figure inside with the same wild hair and hood that Ezma always seemed to wear. Next to it, he drew some curvy wave patterns, and a figure that looked decently like Prompto swimming in it. “Ezma said she found you calling for help. What happened?” 

It was clear from the sudden crestfallen way Prompto gazed at the drawing in front of him, that he understood. His eyes blinked slowly, his mouth twitched in a frown. Finally, with heavy movements, he tapped on the glass to request a new drawing board. 

Gladio helped by following his finger from the outside. The pictures came to life between them, one by one. First, three figures, all with long tail fins, swimming together under the waves. Prompto pointed to the smallest one, then to himself. Okay, so these were his…friends? A family? So he hadn't always been on his own, then. 

Prompto's finger paused before he could draw the rest. He looked up at Gladio, held his gaze for a long moment, before bringing one hand up to his head in the shape of a sharp fin. In his veins, Gladio's blood turned to ice. Yet still he watched. Watched as Prompto copied his own crude gestures to mimic the gaping mouth of a shark, then brought his palms slamming together in front of the picture he'd drawn. 

_ Oh.  _

Now it all made sense. The reason Prompto was found alone, the panic in the hut when Gladio had inadvertently reminded him of his trauma. He winced with the realization of what he'd done. "I…I'm sorry. So sorry, Prompto." 

Though still wearing a sad smile, the merman moved along the tank to a clear section of glass. Leaned close and blew a stream of bubbles against it until Gladio obliged from the other side. Then he began to tease out a new picture. Himself, tail stretched out long behind him, and a different figure swimming at his side. A figure with two legs, and a line running down its face.

Gladio touched his fingers to his brow above his left eye, feeling the old scar there. It was him. Prompto meant him. 

Just what was he getting himself into? 


	2. Fast Currents

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio's made a connection with the merman that, try as he might, he simply can't ignore. Does Prompto feel the same? And could things ever actually work between them... physically?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, have more merman-lovin' for Promptio Week. This time I used the Day 4 prompt "nature" -- because Prom and Gladdy are about to do it like they do on the Discovery Channel ;) 
> 
> (Okay I actually hate that song and just dated myself but, well, moving on) 
> 
> SMUT AHOY!

It had been a long night for Gladio, to say the least. Back in the empty guest room of the cottage, surrounded by creaking walls that smelled of sea salt and old pine, he'd tried in vain to put all thoughts of Prompto out of his mind. There was no denying his attraction to the merman. He was  _ beautiful _ , after all, and something about his sweet smile and curious eyes had so quickly captured Gladio's imagination - and his heart. 

But the problems with these sudden feelings were boundless. For one thing, Prompto wasn't  _ human _ . At least, half of him wasn't, and that was a very important half in Gladio's opinion. For another thing, they lived in incredibly different worlds. He, the land, in a city surrounded by man-made walls. Prompto, the sea, under the waves and far beyond the reach of the sun. 

There was just no sense in humoring the attraction, no matter how strong its pull, if they could never be together. Logically Gladio knew that much, and yet…. He still found it incredibly hard to imagine his life going back to normal. Now that he knew merfolk existed - and had inadvertently grown a soft spot for one in particular - how could his old world ever seem anything but mundane again? 

Such thoughts kept him awake long into the night. And, even once he did finally drift into slumber, his dreams were haunted by sea foam green eyes and the sensation of bubbles kissing over his skin.

The sun was long up by the time a knock came at his door. Urgent, insistent, pulling Gladio out of his troubled sleep with an almost panicked start. "What is it?" he snapped, already rolling himself out of bed to hastily get dressed. "Give me a moment, I'm coming." 

When he none-too-gently yanked open the door, he was surprised to find one of the researchers from the team - a man named Akers - staring back at him with wide eyes. 

"Did I...wake you, sir?" he asked carefully, taking in the sight of bloodshot eyes and that uncombed mane. Gladio huffed. 

"I was up," he lied. "What do you want?" 

"Ah. Yes, well, you see…. There's something wrong with the specimen."

"With Pro-- er, with the fish man? What's happened?" It was impossible to keep the concern from his voice, or hide the way his hands clenched on instinct, ready to swing into action. If these so-called 'scientists' had somehow hurt him…!

"We aren't actually sure, sir. First, it started swimming into the walls of the tank. Then, when we tried to subdue it--" 

"What do you mean,  _ 'subdue' _ ?"

"Just a simple potion, sir. But, well, when we tried to administer the injection, it - that is, the creature, sir - started to…. Er. Well, it started to  _ speak. _ " 

Suddenly wide awake, Gladio stared at the man as if he himself had just sprouted gills and a tail. "Speak?! How? What did he say?" 

Akers shifted uncomfortably under his piercing gaze. "We believe he's...asking for you, sir." 

The makeshift laboratory was still as cold and as dark as the night before. Gladio followed the researcher down the worn steps to where the rest of the team was gathered around the tank, chattering in hushed whispers. In the center, he could see Prompto flicking his tail angrily as he launched himself from one side to the other. His shoulder impacted the glass hard enough to make even Gladio wince.

But then, as he approached the tank, elbowing past the bodies in his way, something changed. Prompto caught sight of him, and his face instantly brightened. He swam to the nearest side of his tank, laughing as bubbles rose to the surface around him, and the clear sound of Gladio's name left his lips. 

He'd been practicing, it seemed. 

"General Amicitia, sir! We're sorry to bother you with this. We still don't know how the creature learned your na--" 

"Clear the room, Dr. Elshett. I need some time alone with him." 

"...'Him,' sir?" The woman, one of Noctis' most trusted aides, looked from Gladio to the tank, and back again. "Are you sure this is wise?" 

"Ten minutes. He trusts me...I think. Give me some time." 

She bowed her head, then turned to the team to silently shoo them all up the stairs. Gladio waited until the last footsteps faded, and the basement door shut in their wake, before releasing the breath he'd been holding for the last few moments. "Six, Prom. You could've gotten us both into trouble. What's gotten into you?" 

Swirling aqua depths, bright with relief, stared back at him above a weak smile. Prompto put his palm to the glass, and waited until Gladio did the same. "Were you up thinking about me all night, too?" Gladio flashed a grin, then sighed. "What are we doing, Prom? This is crazy." 

Bubbles rose as Prompto carefully mouthed something. When Gladio didn't follow, he pointed up - up to where the top of the tank opened near the ceiling. Did he want him to climb up there? Up where there would be no glass to separate them…?

Maybe Prompto could read the trepidation on his face. The merman's fingers curled and uncurled against the glass, as if to plead, and he pinched his pink lip between his sharp teeth. Beneath him, his tail began to twitch in short, frantic movements, stirring up bubbles within the water of the tank. 

Gladio hadn’t realized he’d been holding his breath again. He glanced quickly around the room until he found a table that looked sturdy enough to do the trick. With a tap to the glass to say,  _ wait _ , he dragged the table across the hardwood floor up to the edge of the tank. He tested his weight on it, first with his hands pushing down, then gingerly one foot at a time. Until, standing at full height on it, he could reach the top of the glass and peer over the edge inside. 

Prompto floated up, breaking the surface of the water to meet him. Damp hair clung to his forehead, his cheeks, but he was smiling in evident excitement as he reached out to offer his hand. 

Despite his better judgement, Gladio took it in his own. 

The first thing he noticed was that Prompto’s skin was  _ warm _ . Somehow, he’d worried those fingers would feel clammy, or alien to the touch, much like a slippery fish he was trying to pull off a hook. But no, it seemed aside from the tail, the not-quite-human teeth, and the general lack of proper speech, Prompto was otherwise just like any other young man in Eos. Okay, maybe he was more attractive than any other man Gladio had seen before, and his eyes were mesmerizingly deep. And, when those warmer-than-he’d-expected fingers closed around his in curiosity, he realized Prompto was surprisingly strong, too. 

“Oh, hey, easy there,” he laughed, flexing his knuckles where Prompto had gripped him. “Humans are fragile, you know. Uh, do you mind if I…?” Prompto didn’t shy away when he brushed back a lock of soaking wet blond hair. Nor did he flinch when Gladio’s palm stayed there, gliding slowly down the curve of his face to cup one of those soft cheeks. Blue-green eyes fluttered, and pink lips parted as if in a sigh. When Gladio’s thumb stroked over a line of freckles, Prompto practically melted into the intimate touch. 

“ _ Six _ . What am I doing…?” He could have laughed at himself, if his breath wasn’t trapped in his throat. The king had sent him here to  _ study _ the merman, not to fall head first for a pair of pretty eyes and an enchanting smile. Yet, here he was, suddenly less concerned with how Prompto’s half-fish body functioned than how it would feel to hold against himself. 

_ To hell with it _ , he thought. And to hell with the researchers. When was he going to get another opportunity like this in his entire lifetime? If he didn't take the plunge now, he knew he'd regret it forever.

He untied his boots first, setting them aside so as not to damage the leather. Next to go was his loose cotton shirt. Tugging it over his head exposed the hard edges of powerful muscles, a body built for duty in the Crownsguard, as well the dark tattoos that represented his family’s proud heritage. 

While he undressed, Prompto watched him from the surface of the water in a mix of awe and, well, more awe. Clothing, clearly, was a foreign concept to a merman, and now that he was seeing Gladio in the flesh for the first time, it seemed he was pleased with everything he saw. 

It took some effort to raise himself to the top of the tank, but Gladio was relieved when it held. Helpfully, Prompto pressed himself to the far side to make room. First one foot was in the water, then the other. Then he was sliding off the edge to drop straight into the tank with a splash. 

The cold hit him in a rush, but the shock didn’t last long. He was almost instantly wrapped in a gentle embrace as Prompto swam to meet him, arms coiling around his chest to lift him back to the surface. He broke with a gasp, and shook the water from his dark hair on instinct. In front of him, Prompto laughed again. 

“Hey, beautiful,” he grinned in answer. “I hope you don’t mind me dropping in.” 

The tank shook as he was pushed up against the glass in a surge of bubbles and joy. Prompto rubbed the wet tip of his nose against Gladio’s, laid his palms flat on the planes of his chest, and smiled as if he’d just been given the shiniest present in the sea. 

Gladio only hesitated for a moment before hugging him in return. He noted the curves of Prompto’s body, the powerful muscles that flexed down the length of his back to where the skin began to harden with scales. They were cooler than the rest of him, but not sharp or uncomfortable to touch. As he ran his fingers over them gently, he couldn’t help but notice the way Prompto shuddered in his arms.

“Does that tickle?” he asked. “Or do you like it?” 

Pink lips ghosted in a telling sigh down to the side of his neck. Gladio gulped. 

“Interesting. Guess that makes you hot-blooded, like me.” He couldn’t deny he was feeling it, too. How long had it been since the last time he’d held another like this? Since he’d set aside thoughts of duty, of work, to simply allow his body to lead? 

Too long, his mind supplied, and he drew in a breath as he pulled Prompto in close. 

That long, glimmering tail rubbed against his legs. Fingernails dug into his shoulders, and he felt the distinct tickle of bubbles against his neck where Prompto gasped into the water. Familiar in a way, and yet still thrillingly new. Everything was an experiment, exploring untouched flesh to understand what brought more of those pretty sighs to the merman's lips. Did Prompto like the sensation of fingers dancing up his back? The answer, an undeniable  _ yes. _ How about his chest? The way light pink nipples hardened rapidly into pert buds beneath his thumbs was all the reaction he needed. 

" _ Gla...dio _ ." It was still imperfect, but the name fell from Prompto's lips with such endearing need that it didn't matter. Gladio held him close by the waist, brushed the wet hair from his face with his free hand. 

"It's okay, Prompto. I've got you."  _ Gods _ , he was beautiful, his lips so soft and tempting…. Did merfolk kiss? Would Prompto think him crazy for wanting to taste him? Again, there was only one way to find out. 

Water splashed his neck, his chin, as he leaned down to meet Prompto's mouth. The body in his arms stiffened, maybe in surprise or perhaps he was merely stunned, before melting more fully against him. Pink lips parted eagerly for him. Prompto's tongue, warm and pliant, flicked out in understanding. Had he done this before? No, Gladio thought. He was too hurried, too eager, but it was clear he was willing to learn. 

Smiling against his mouth, Gladio took the lead. Kissed him slowly, gently, until he was ready to slide his tongue into that inviting cavern. In his arms, Prompto shivered and rolled his lower body with anticipation. With  _ desire _ , as Gladio soon discovered, for there was no mistaking the hardness of some unseen appendage beginning to swell against his thigh.

Gladio broke the kiss with a gasp. He couldn't see down between their bodies, not with the surface of the water so rough and choppy around them. But Prompto's expression said it all. Need hung heavy in his eyes, where his lids fluttered and his eyelashes brushed temptingly against his cheeks. Those, too, were flushed with heat, the freckles popping like stars in a sea of red. He gave Gladio only a moment to process the situation, before he was diving back in to resume the desperate kiss. 

He was helpless. He may as well have been stranded in the middle of the open ocean, unable to do more than cling to the lithe merman's shoulders as the very distinctly  _ non- _ human half of him set to work. That hardness continued to grow, longer and longer and sliding against his thigh with every powerful flick of the tail. The tank shuddered, rocked, threatened to give with each wave that was formed. Water began splashing dangerously up and over the sides of the glass. 

Alarmed in more ways than one, Gladio got hold of his senses. He gripped Prompto's shoulders, soothing him with his weight and his words alike. "Easy, easy. Calm down, beautiful." 

Gradually, Prompto got the message. But even as he slowed to a stop, his need was desperately clear on his face. " _ Gla-di-o…? _ " 

"Relax. You're going to break the figurative bed," he chuckled weakly. It was harder to hold himself above water now without Prompto's help, but he took advantage of the few inches of space that had opened up between them to reach his hand down. "That's it, relax for me." 

Guiding Prompto into position, he pushed down the hem of his own pants to expose the half-hard flesh of his cock, too. He'd never done this in water before. Hell, he'd never done  _ anything _ like this before, but the look on his merman's face was too sweet to deny now. "Follow my lead, okay? Go slow." 

Everything below Prompto's waist, apparently, was more fish than human. The length protruding from an opening in the scales was smooth, long and thin near the tip and widening as his fingers followed it back to the base. More gasps, more shudders filled the air around them. Distracting, and Gladio found himself torn between mapping the curious shape of the cock against his palm, and wanting to draw Prompto back into a kiss. 

Then his fingers reached the opening between Prompto's scales, and his brain stopped thinking altogether. 

It was warm. Wet, too, thought he supposed that was a given considering their surroundings. What surprised him, though, was the way his fingers sank easily into the slit there, following the base of Prompto's cock into a cavern as deep and as slick as….

Near his ear, Prompto let out a shaky gasp. Teeth grazed his jaw, his neck, and then the merman was biting him. Not hard enough to draw blood, but pain still shot out from the spot where his mouth had clamped down. 

Through clenched teeth, Gladio repeated the move. Pushed two of his fingers back into that heated cavern, and again Prompto cried out around a mouthful of shoulder. " _ Six _ ," he swore softly. His own cock responded with a surge of sensations, suddenly throbbing for attention as more heat enveloped his fingers. "You're going to be the death of me…." 

Three fingers slid into the opening. With his palm, Gladio rubbed the underside of Prompto's cock with every flick of his wrist. He followed Prompto's tells - his hitching gasps, the hot walls that twitched and tightened around his fingers - until he could sense the merman was reaching the edge. 

In hindsight, he probably should have asked first. But when he pulled his hand away, Prompto looked up at him with such desperation, such lust-driven need, that he didn't think twice before acting. Gladio used one powerful leg to pull Prompto's lower body in close. Lined up his own cock against that tempting channel at the base of hard flesh, and pushed forward into unbelievable paradise. 

If Prompto had been shocked before, he nearly squeezed the life force right out of Gladio as his body instinctively clenched around the intrusion. His eyes opened wide, his mouth gaped in a silent cry. Yet he didn't pull away. When vice-like muscles relaxed enough to allow Gladio to move, he rocked his hips forward to slide even deeper inside. Again, Prompto tensed. Relaxed. Shuddered in his arms as those lips once more began chanting his name. 

" _ Gla...dio…! Gladi...! _ " 

Faster, pumping his hips through the water, Gladio fucked into Prompto's body with ferver. It felt incredible. There was such pressure, such heat, and the length of Prompto's cock pressing over and over into his abdomen only served to fuel the pleasure. His groans of need rumbled through them both, fingers and teeth alike grasped for purchase on wet skin. A mix of pain, pleasure, and thrill sent his blood pounding in his ears for the final thrusts, and then Gladio was coming deep into the warmth of enveloping flesh. 

He managed to suck in a shallow breath just before the water rose over his head. Or maybe, he realized, he was just sinking, his arms and legs too spent to stay afloat any longer. Prompto nuzzled against him as they drifted slowly together down into the tank, the merman's own cock leaking a long stream of milky white on the way down. 

Gradually, Gladio opened his eyes in the water to see Prompto clearly. His sated smile, gaze filled with tenderness, with...love. Around them, strings of white floated up, evidence of their sex, and the sight was enough to make him laugh. 

Bubbles let his mouth in place of sound. His lungs felt suddenly empty, and his chest tightened with panic. He couldn't  _ breathe _ . Prompto was still wrapped around him, arms and tail and all, making it impossible to rush back to the top of the tank. Was drowning going to be his reward for following his heart?

Green-blue eyes found him. Ground him, as it were, to the moment, until he stopped flailing for help. Prompto smiled, tapped a finger to Gladio's lips, then pressed forward to kiss him. 

No, not just a kiss. The tongue slipping into his mouth was there to open a path. Prompto breathed into him - oxygen, light and precious, filled his lungs to the brim. His panic subsided in relief. Their lips broke again, and Prompto giggled to see the look of surprise there on his face. 

Gladio could hardly believe it. 

None of it. 

He'd just fucked a merman. Not only that, but said merman had just accidentally solved one of his biggest hang ups about the whole affair. If there was such a simple way for him to breathe under the waves, then….

He pulled Prompto into a real kiss this time, meaningful but brief. He'd have to hurry. There was a lot of work to be done if he was going to set the beginnings of this plan into motion, and he had to do it before anyone on the team caught wise.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> He does like fish sticks ;)


	3. Fish in the Sea

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gladio's got a plan to get Prompto out of the lab - but will they have time to escape before the rest of the team learns what's /really/ going on down there?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well. It's no longer Promptio Week, and so I guess it doesn't matter that this is super late. It was meant to be for the AU day prompt.  
> Anyway. Here's more mer-Prom lovin' his silly human Gladio, some fluffy new ways to communicate, and a daring escape to the wide open sea. Tags have been updated, as well as the number of chapters. There will be one more part after this to wrap the story up.  
> Thanks for sticking around with me :)

Walking out of the laboratory, Gladio pretended not to notice the array of looks they were giving him. Some surprised, others horrified, but all turning to regard him equally speechless.

Their shock was quite justified, considering how he must have looked: sopping wet, hair clinging to his face and neck, carrying his boots in one hand and his holding his pants up around his hips with the other. Looking as if he'd just swum ashore from a shipwreck, though that was clearly not the case. The only explanation possibly more farfetched was that he'd just taken a dip in the tank with an unpredictable and volatile mer-creature, and _somehow_ survived. 

Dr. Monica Elshett approached him with understandable caution. "General, sir? Do you...need a towel?" 

"I'm fine," he replied gruffly, shaking some water out of his ears.

"Sir, we wanted to go in after ten minutes, like you said, but we…. Well, we heard _noises_ , and…. Sir, you're bleeding." 

She reached up, not quite touching him, to where the skin of his left shoulder had been punctured in the shape of... _teeth?_ Before she could make an assessment, Gladio quickly pulled the collar of his shirt closed to cover himself. 

"I said I'm fine, doctor. But I need to contact the king immediately." He looked around at all the wide-eyed stares, the uncertain glances being exchanged, and cleared his throat loudly. "Until I have further orders from the Citadel, the laboratory is off limits. No one is to conduct any experiments on or stick anything in-- _er_ , o-or otherwise harass the merman. Is that clear?" 

Again, Dr. Elshett spoke up for the rest of the team. "Our _job_ , as already ordered by King Noctis, is to study the specimen--"

"Prompto." 

"In order to-- Wait. What did you say?" 

"His name is Prompto," Gladio said firmly. "And the orders have changed. As the head of this operation, I'll be moving my things downstairs to keep watch, and to ensure no further harm comes to him. Are we _clear,_ doctor?" 

Sometimes, Gladio thought to himself as the grumbling researchers gradually retreated to their rooms, it paid to pull rank. They'd be a sour lot to put up with for the next few hours, but with any luck, they'd all be on their way back home by morning. Assuming, of course, Noctis bothered to check his mail….

Only those with official positions in either the Crownsguard or the Glaives has access to the Royal Armiger. It was a byproduct of the Crystal's magic, a sort of void in space-time they used to store and summon weapons for the battlefield. It certainly wasn't meant to be used lightly, or for such trivial things as sending hastily-penned letters from across the continent. But Gladio was desperate, and he couldn't wait for a bird to carry his message all the way back to Insomnia. The Armiger was his best hope. 

Reaching into the Crystal's ethereal depths, he tied the roll of parchment to the handle of Noct's sword. Then, thinking better of it, he looped the string around one of Ignis' daggers, as well. Even if the king didn't notice, his attached-at-the-hip (and only Gladio knew just how accurate of a description that was) advisor hopefully would. 

Done. Now, to wait for a reply, whatever the outcome may be.

As he packed his things -- his riding uniform, a few books for the road -- Gladio considered the logistics of the plan unfolding before him. If Noct accepted his proposal, the next challenge would be transportation. As amusing as it might be, they couldn't exactly put a merman on a chocobo and expect an easy ride. For one thing, birds tended to _eat_ fish, and for another, he wasn't exactly sure how long Prompto could safely be out of the water before he was at risk. 

That left either hiring a caravan from the village down the coast to move him, tank and all, or journey to Insomnia by sea. 

The latter seemed the most logical, of course. It posed the least danger to Prompto, and would require little to no money to hire a crew. On the other hand, Gladio frowned, it was a long, _long_ way to the city in the North. To travel along the coast would likely take days, and how could they be sure Prompto didn't get lost -- or worse, turn around and go home? 

A sudden thought struck Gladio, hard enough to knock the book he was holding from his hand. _Home_. With everything that had happened -- the kisses, the sex, and the desperate hatchings of a plan to keep Prompto by his side -- Gladio hadn't once stopped to consider if this was what Prompto really wanted. 

Sure, he seemed to like Gladio well enough, and maybe that would make him happy for a while. But a life in the city, while luxurious, was hardly the endless bounds of the wide oceans Prompto was used to. Would he hate it? Would he feel just as trapped there as he did in the tank downstairs? 

Gladio could never bear to cage him. Even for his own selfish desires. Before he delved any further into the whats and hows of the matter, he needed to make sure Prompto felt the same. 

Snatching up his belongings, he barked an order to a wandering apprentice outside to bring down his mattress, and headed for the basement with his heart in his throat. 

Prompto was still, for lack of a better word, basking in the afterglow of their earlier encounter. His movements were languid as he swam to the front of the tank. His smile as he greeted Gladio was tender, unreserved, as was the way his fingers stroked across the glass when he approached. 

"Hey, beautiful." Gladio mirrored Prompto's greeting, his palm pressing flat to the tank. "Did you miss me?" 

Blue-green eyes swam. " _Gladio._ "

"You're getting good at that. I'll have to teach you some more words to hear on those pretty lips of yours." Though smiling, his heart hung heavy with emotions. As if sensing it Prompto floated lower in the tank, his tail swishing curiously behind him. "I gotta talk to you about something, Prom. I want to get you out of here. Out of this cage, I mean." 

Gladio gestured to the dark basement surrounding them. The look on his face was one of disgust, frustration, and the merman, understanding, nodded in agreement. "You belong free, Prompto. Out in the wide world, not trapped here like a test subject. But…." 

Here, he stopped. How could he explain this in a way Prompto could follow? The merman was no doubt quick on the uptake, quite imaginative, and seemed capable of reading beyond the sounds coming from Gladio's mouth. But this would be more difficult than teaching him a name, or following the tells of his body. This would be asking him to move across the continent for an _idea_.

"I...come from a city. It's big, _huge_ , with tall buildings and a shining palace in the center." While he spoke, he used his hands to paint a picture of Insomnia, from the wide streets to the towering peaks of the Citadel. "And it has these walls around it. They're old, but they're so beautiful. I think you'd really love it, Prompto, it's like living in the heart of Lucis, and…."

The merman's smile was faltering. He was desperately trying to keep up with Gladio's excited movements, but the message, it seemed, was lost on him. And why wouldn't it be? His kind likely had no need for cities made of stone and glass. His only contact with humans had been the fishing vilage at the beach, and this old, rickety cottage where he'd been held captive in a tiny fish bowl. Gladio, tension draining out of him, offered an apologetic smile. 

"Sorry. I'm still getting the hang of this. Let me try again." 

There was a notebook open on a table nearby. Gladio flipped through page after page of indecipherable notes and numbers, until he found a blank sheet on which to work. Snatching up the book and a charcoal, he folded his legs under him as he took a seat next to the tank.

Prompto floated down to join him. His eyes widened to see the dark lines forming across the page, shape after shape coming to life by Gladio's hand. Buildings, windows, the distant Wall breaking the horizon beyond. And he drew people, too, all moving about on two legs, a vibrant cityscape full of life and culture. He was no artist by any stretch of the imagination, but Prompto watched him work as if enchanted, a child enthralled before a magician. 

"So over here, this thing is supposed to be my house. My family lives here," Gladio explained, drawing a crude portrait of himself, his father, Iris. "This is my sister, I know she'd absolutely love you, Prom. And Noct, my friend. I guess he's also the king, too, but…. Well, here's Ignis, beside him. And Luna and her brother, Ravus, who take care of the church. And this…." He paused long enough to add one more figure, floating next to his own potrait on a long, curved tail that ended in a fin. "This could be you. If you want, I mean. Prom?" 

He turned hopeful amber eyes over his shoulder, wondering if this would be enough to get his message across. But instead of Prompto, his gaze met only empty space, clear water where his merman had been just seconds before. 

Something dripped onto his sketch from above. _Plip plip._ Two drops, then a third, and a fourth. By the time the next one splashed onto his nose, Gladio was already looking up to see, to his surprise, Prompto waving at him from over the edge of the tank.

"How did you…?" he started, but curiosity already had him climbing to his feet. Prompto smiled, and beckoned him closer with pale, slender fingers. Stretching his arms out, Prompto caught Gladio's face between his hands, and leaned his upper body over the glass frame until he could push his nose to a rough shaven cheek. 

" _Gladio!"_ he cried excitedly. 

"Careful, you're gonna fall out," Gladio laughed. He caught Prompto's shoulders in his hands, helping to support him just in case. "What are you doing? Did you like my dumb picture that much?" 

" _Gladio!_ " In answer, the merman pointed to his sketchbook on the floor. Again and again, until Gladio picked it up and brought it closer for him to see. 

At first, Prompto seemed more interested in running his fingers through the charcoal on the paper than on the image itself. He traced the edges on the buildings, the faces of the people he'd drawn there. Then, hands blackened with soot, he pointed excitedly to the tailed figure. "Prompto!" 

"Heh. Yeah, that's you, beautiful. Did I capture your best side?" 

"Gladio!" he hummed next, moving his finger through the charcoal to connect a faint line between their hands. Without waiting for Gladio to swallow his emotions, he next pointed to the large square building pictured behind them. "...?" 

"That?" Gladio curled his own fingers around Prompto's hand, gently helping him trace a pattern around the large family he'd depicted there. "All of this is... _home_." 

"Ho...mm." 

"Close enough." A laugh, and he stretched up on his toes to brush his lips against Prompto's mouth. "Say yes?" 

" _Home_ ," Prompto agreed into the kiss. 

It was settled. Somehow, Gladio could hardly believe it, but Prompto _wanted_ to go with him. Back to Insomnia, whether on birdback or by sea, to meet his friends and join his family. To _stay_ with him, whatever that would take, and make him the happiest human in all of Lucis. 

Nothing, he thought as those slick lips slid against his, could possibly ruin this moment. 

Well. _Almost_ nothing.

"General Amicitia? I've brought your mattr--! _By the Six!"_ Too late, the young apprentice slapped a hand over his mouth. The bedroll he'd been carrying tumbled the rest of the way down the stairs to land on the floor, forgotten completely in light of the scene playing out before him. 

Gladio froze. Prompto, eyes wide, slid quietly back into his tank like he'd just been caught plucking sea grapes from the neighbor's garden. The three stared in silence for a tense moment. Then, before Gladio could stop him, the young man turned and fled from the basement, no doubt straight to report to Dr. Elshett herself. 

"Oh, _shit_." 

It looked like his plans to get Prompto out of Caem had just been flung unexpectedly into motion.

* * *

"Hang on tight." The warning wasn't necessary. Prompto's hands were already gripping him with all the strength a frightened merman could - which, apparently, was a lot. Gladio braced himself against the side of the tank, sucked in a breath, and pulled at the same time Prompto pushed off the surface of the water. He came flailing out over the side into Gladio's arms, sending them both crashing to the floor. 

Rattled but mostly unhurt, Gladio rolled the weight of Prompto's tail off of his legs, and laughed. "Wait 'til I tell Noct we invented a new way to go fishing." 

That earned him a sharp look from above freckled cheeks. He could feel Prompto's heart beating rapidly in his chest, and the tension as he attempted to restrain his panic. Right. He was out of the water, and now they had to move _fast._

There was a single, narrow window leading from the basement to the grounds outside. That would likely be their only option, as Gladio could already hear the voices of the researchers gathering in the hallway outside the door. Someone tried the handle -- he'd thankfully had the sense to push a chair under it before they started their getaway -- but there was no telling how long they had to escape. 

"I'll push you up," he explained, already guiding Prompto to climb onto his back. "Think you can wiggle through that opening? It'll be a tight fit for us both…." 

_That_ was an understatement. While Prompto's torso slipped through the gap easily, the wider curves of his lower body kept catching on the sill. With Gladio pushing from behind and his elbows digging into the hard ground up front, he finally managed to squeeze through with only a few lost scales in the process. 

Gladio was next. His large shoulders meant he had to slide through one arm at a time, and even then half of his shirt didn't survive the trip. He tore the rest off as he got to his feet on the other side and, not missing the way Prompto drank in the sight, quickly scooped him up into his arms, tail and all. 

The sun was just beginning to sink toward the reddening horizon as the pair neared the beach. Heads turned, faces peered out from ramshackle houses, but no one in the village dared approach the royal guard and his stolen fish man. Not until, reaching the far end of the village, Gladio's strength at last gave out. 

"Ezma!" he shouted, dropping to one knee in the sand. Prompto, eyes filled with concern, hugged closer to his bare chest. "Ezma, we need your help." 

She appeared in the door of the largest hut. Her face as she took stock of them said she had long been expecting this. "Ah, General. You'll be needing to borrow a boat, I take it."

"We have to get to Insomnia," he started to explain, but she quickly waved the matter aside. A short nod to a woman nearby, then she was tromping across the sand to reach them. 

"I'm happy for you, child. Your misfortunes have turned to luck." She turned her smile from Prompto to Gladio. "And you. I'm glad you've finally opened yourself to the mysteries this world has to offer. Go, both of you. You've got a king to impress." 

With her help, Gladio carried Prompto to the edge of the water, and released him into the waves. He splashed excitedly, dove down until they'd lost sight of him from the shore. Then, with a stream of water shooting from his lips, he reemerged further out to wave back in cheery greeting. 

"He's a free spirit, that one. A heatt such as his can never be tamed. Never forget that." Ezma placed a hand on Gladio's arm. He faced her, looked into her deep eyes so full of wisdom with a life at sea. And he swallowed. 

"Yeah. I think I understand." Then he climbed into the boat they'd prepared for him, and pushed off to follow in Prompto's wake. 

Those words stayed with him even as the sun set and the waves darkened all around. Gladio let his mind wander as he rowed the oars. He let it chase after Prompto, who swam alongside him, sometimes darting out ahead, sometimes falling back to float liesurely beside the boat. He let it reflect with the light of the rising moon on the suface of the waves, and in the distant line of the coast they were following to the east. 

But his mind and body both grew tired as the hours wore on. As desperately as they needed to reach Insomnia, they weren't going to make it if he couldn't first replenish his strength. "Prompto," he called out gently in the direction of the merman's tail slapping the waves nearby. "Time for a break. See any good beaches around here?" 

Blue-green eyes, glowing eerily in the moon light, turned back to him. A few gestures -- _tired, flat, sleep_ \-- and Prompto disappeared into the depths to speed ahead. It didn't take him long to return, this time much closer to the boat and grinning in the dark. "Gladio!" he said, pointing to the shore. Mustering his last ounces of strength, Gladio turned the boat to follow him. 

The beach was small, litterd with shells and rocks and seaweed. But to Gladio, stepping onto the land and letting his arms fall exhausted to his sides, it was more than enough. "Nice job, Prom. This is perfect." He stretched out onto his back in the sand, neither minding the way tiny waves of foam tickled his feet, nor the warmth of a very wet, very affectionate merman dragging himself up to his side. 

They both smelled of sweat, of sea salt and exertion, but the limbs hugging around him made Gladio feel like a million gil. He closed his eyes, pressed his lips to the nearest part of Prompto he could find -- his forehead -- and sighed. "Wish we could've taken this slower, Prom. Not you and me," he said with a weak chuckle, and ran his fingers over the merman's bare chest. "I mean this trip. There are so many things I would've liked to show you on the way home. The mountains of Leide, Alstor lakes, green hills for miles. Well, at least we're still getting to camp out together under all these stars." 

Opening his eyes again, he stared up into the night sky and imagined flying through space. Spinning slowly on this big rock in an endless sea of distant lights, floating...drifting….

Prompto's hands on his shoulders shook him from the pulls of sleep. A little disoriented, he blinked up again to see the merman hovering over him, bottom lip pinched between sharp teeth. " _Gladio."_

Were those...tears? He couldn't tell, not with blond locks still dripping water into Prompto's face and down onto his chest. But the emotion, the _need_ in his eyes was unmistakable. Could Prompto sense his thoughts again? Or was he trying to thank him for freeing him from the Caem lab? 

Gladio supposed, as Prompto swooped down to kiss him, that it didn't really matter either way. 

Limbs heavy with exhaustion, he was grateful that Prompto seemed to want to take the lead this time. Those gentle fingers glided over his skin, petting him, exploring every dip and curve from his neck to his belly. Lips, teeth, tongue moved from his mouth to his throat, tasting him and leaving trails of dark marks in their wake. 

For his part, Gladio rewarded Prompto's efforts with more and more of his rumbling voice. "Feels good," he hummed, and let Prompto's sweet touch lull him back into half-sleep. "So good…." 

Again, he was yanked back into the moment when eager fingers began tugging at the hem of his pants. Harder, harder, as if he intended to tear them right off of Gladio's hips to get to the prize he sought. 

"Easy, baby. Let me help." Prompto was _almost_ patient while Gladio clumsily undid the fastenings on his sun-and-sea-salt flecked pants. He waited, watching and learning, until Gladio was sufficiently exposed, then with a swat to his wrist took back over the job. 

"Gladio," he purred. His fingers stroked over the hardening flesh of his cock, perhaps the one part of him still strong enough to stand on its own, and he made a sound like sighing bubbles in his throat. 

"Sorry, don't have much stamina left, baby." Gladio smiled as he placed his own hand over Prompto's, helping him move in a steady pace up and down his length. "As much as I wanna get sand in really uncomfortable places with you, I don't think I ca--"

" _Gladio."_ It was firm enough to snap his mouth shut. Prompto gazed at him, his eyes glowing and freckles glinting in the moonlight, as his hand suddenly began to pump with vigor. Gladio sucked in a breath through his teeth. Dropped his head back in the sand, and let his body roll up into the intensity of that fist.

" _Six,_ Prom…!" His hand kept moving. Faster, harder, until the stars in the sky above were nothing compared to the ones flying past Gladio's eyelids. "Prom!" 

The merman stopped just as quickly as he'd started. In the wake of his ministrations, Gladio gasped for breath -- but the reprieve didn't last long. Prompto lifted his body up to drape his tail between Gladio's thighs. His mer-cock, long and iridescent blue in the light, leaked a trail of milky fluid over Gladio's hip, his lower stomach, as that slit in his scales opened wider. 

" _Astrals_ ," Gladio wheezed. This had been one thing submerged in water, but here on the beach, right out in the open air…?! He never got a chance to finish that thought. The merman's mer-half dropped down onto him, and all further brain function was lost to the roar of blood in his ears.

Prompto had exceptional upper body strength, no doubt about it. He used his arms to raise and lower himself, each time dragging his heavy tail back and forth through the sand to impale himself on Gladio's length. He took him deep into that tight channel, then slid off of him again to the sound of more airy sighs. In again, deeper than before, and out until the head of Gladio’s cock was stretching him open wide. 

Already at his body’s limit, Prompto’s desperate thrusting was all it took to push Gladio over the edge. His fingers grasped slippery flesh and smooth scales alike, and with a groan deep in his throat he came. He felt Prompto pause - mercifully - until the tension in him drained to the last drop, and he collapsed like a crest of foam onto the sand. 

The rest was a blur. Prompto continued to ride him as long as he could; then, once Gladio’s oversensitive cock had flagged, the merman switched to grinding his own hard flesh against Gladio’s hip, his thigh, anywhere he could reach. Chasing pleasure to the pace of his own, powerful rhythm. 

Gladio wished he could help, honestly. To offer a hand, or his mouth, or even his ass if only he could find the energy to roll over. But he was spent, more boneless than after a full day of training with the Crownsguard, and as it was he could barely keep his eyes open to watch the final show. Which, as expected, was well worth both the effort and the wait. Prompto’s mouth opened prettily as his orgasm rippled through him. His eyes fluttered closed, and even in the moonlight Gladio could see the hint of pink coloring his face, his shoulders, his bare chest. 

When Prompto’s upper body sank at last down against him, it took the last of Gladio’s strength to turn and bury his face in blond hair. 

* * *

The tide had gone out sometime in the night. 

Gladio woke to a distinct chill in the air, and the dim light just before dawn illuminating the sky above. He was still on the beach -- the sand had matted in his hair, and he could feel the salt of the sea water drying uncomfortably on his legs and feet. But, noticeably, he was quite alone. 

Pushing himself gingerly up onto one elbow (and brushing aside a small crab that had decided to scuttle across his chest), he took stock of his surroundings. The water, calm and grey in the early hours; the boat from the village, rocking gently in the waves against the sand. Everything was as it had been the night before -- save for the lack of Prompto. 

Strange. Gladio ignored the rumbling in his stomach, and the way his muscles protested at being moved again so early. First, he’d answer the call of nature. Then he’d scrounge up some breakfast -- berries or mushrooms from the foliage further up the coast. Then, if Prompto still hadn’t returned, he’d venture out to sea in search of him. 

The first problem was easy enough to solve. The second, however, proved more of a challenge. There was little in the way of edible pickings without having to wander too far into the brush, and after a few minutes of foraging, all Gladio was able to find was a handful of seeds and some bark. Fluids were his biggest concern, of course, but there was hardly enough time or materials to get a fire going, and no other way to drink the sea water without getting sick. They were still at least a full day out from Insomnia. If he could hold out until then….

Splashing in the water nearby caught his attention, as did the now-familiar sound of his name ringing out on that clear voice. He turned to see Prompto just a few meters out from the shore, waving something in the air for him to see. 

Without hesitation, Gladio waded into the cool, refreshing water to meet him. 

“There you are. I was wondering where you’d wandered off to,” he smiled. Waves caressed his thighs, his stomach, as he moved closer to his merman now showing off a series of watery tricks. “Let’s see what you’ve got there.”

Mid-spin, Prompto rolled onto his back on the water’s surface, and floated leisurely over to bump against Gladio’s side. “ _Ah!”_ he said, grinning, and presented him with a sizable - and still-wriggling - Lucian bass. 

Gladio blinked as he took hold of its tail fin. “For me? For breakfast?” Another look down at Prompto in surprise. “Is this what you were doing all morning?” 

He was still trying to find the right words to thank him when, showing off another playful spin, Prompto dove back under the waves, only to resurface again right under Gladio’s nose. 

This time, he held up not a fish, but a...necklace? Gladio could hardly believe it. Dark pearls, tiny shells, bits of sea glass and coral, all strung together on a thin rope of seaweed. Prompto held it up for him between his outstretched hands, wearing such a hopeful expression that Gladio nearly let go of his breakfast in his rush to scoop him up. “You made this, Prompto? It’s _beautiful._ ” He ran his fingers over the necklace, then over the merman’s cheek. “ _You’re_ beautiful.”

“Gladio. Gladio,” Prompto insisted with a smile. He waited until Gladio lowered his head, then draped the gift around his neck so that the largest of the pearls came to rest just above the beak of his eagle tattoo. Then he swam an excited lap around him in the water, clearly pleased with his effort. 

Grinning now, Gladio held his grip on the bass in one hand, while with the other he caught Prompto’s arm as he passed. Pulled him into a whirling hug against him, and left his fingers hovering on his bare, freckled chest. Just underneath, he felt the merman’s heartbeat. Strong, powerful, steady. Not unlike his own as it pounded faster and faster against his ribs. 

“Thank you,” he said, meaning it. "For everything." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Gladio's all about the fish sticks - and the fish hearts 💕


	4. Sinking In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new home, a new life together. And some new words Prompto is very proud of learning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, the final chapter. A little fic inspired by a prompt for a ship week, that grew into a full story and now, thanks to your feedback, will continue into a sequel in the near future :) Check out the notes at the end for details. In the meantime, thank you so much for reading, interacting, and loving Promptio with me. Being able to share my writing with you all is what keeps me going most days *heart*

It was at dawn on the third day that Insomnia's walls at last loomed into view. They were tall, cutting across the natural landscape like a jagged, man-made horizon.

Gladio called out to Prompto. His voice lacked its usual vigor, and his throat was parched with hunger and thirst. They hadn't had the luxury to stop again in the night, after all, and his last meal had been a meager breakfast the morning before. 

Prompto, on the other hand, seemed tireless in comparison. Having apparently grown bored with the unchanging landscape above water, Prompto had taken to diving and playing around the perimeter of the boat while they travelled. Occasionally, he would swim by to deposit some treasures next to Gladio's feet -- beautiful shells, branches of colorful coral, even a piece of carved wood he'd pulled off an ancient shipwreck. But in large part, he was out of sight far beneath the waves. Gladio would be lying if he said he didn't miss his company. 

Yet the final push was almost over, and their destination at last in sight. "Prom! Baby, come on up here! Take a look." 

As proof that he hadn't wandered too far, Prompto emerged from the waves only seconds later alongside the boat. He draped his arms over the side and smiled expectantly up at his human. "Gladio? Home?" 

"Yeah" Gladio laughed. "We're almost home, beautiful. Look, can you see it up there?" 

Prompto's bright blue-green eyes followed the direction he was pointing, ahead to the north where the Wall stretched high above the coast. In the pre-dawn light, it was still too dark and too far to make out the sigils carved in its sides: the Caelum crest, the symbols of the Kings of Yore. Powerful wards that channeled the the Crystal's magic to protect the city and all who lived within it. 

But he was getting ahead of himself. None of that would make sense to Prompto until he could see it in person for himself.  _ All in good time, _ he thought, and brushed a lock of wet hair from his merman's face. For now, they needed to focus on reaching the Citadel. 

Gradually, the distance began to shrink as the sun broke the eastern horizon. Light illuminated the city ahead. Prompto's eyes as he swam alongside the boat grew wider. "Home," he repeated to himself, testing out the word over and over until he was practically singing it. "Home, home, home." 

"Insomnia," Gladio corrected. He gestured ahead with his chin while his hands gripped the oars tight.

Prompto pulled a face up at him. "...Home?" 

"Yes, home. But it has another name, too. Give it a try: In-som-ni-a." 

"Eh... _ sa...nium."  _

"Heh. We'll have plenty of time to work on that one." 

Prompto was clearly pleased with the smile he received for his efforts. He went back to his impromptu song, replacing the word 'home' with the occasional attempt at the city's proper name, and setting the pace to which Gladio laboriously rowed them both to shore.

He had been expecting an empty coastline. Or, at the very most, a handful of unsuspecting Glaives on patrol around the Wall's exterior. But as they neared the narrow beaches that surrounded the Lucian capital, Gladio could make out a mass of shadows steadily marching out to meet them. 

His stomach leapt into his throat. Not shadows --  _ soldiers. _ Had the research team beaten them to the chase? Was the Royal Guard already out searching for them on Dr. Elshett's behest? If Noctis (or, more likely, Iggy) had failed to see his letter in time, then….

Leaning further into the boat, Prompto suddenly glanced up at him in worry. "Gladio?" 

"Yeah. I see 'em, too, Prom." He slowed their pace, but didn't yet turn around. "Let's get a little closer. There's a chance they're friends, but if I'm wrong…. Just get ready to swim away as fast as you can, okay?" 

On the beach ahead, the unknown party had evidently spotted them. Ranks were forming, disciplined rows of soldiers lining up to face their direction, yet they didn't seem to be drawing any weapons to attack. In fact, they weren't moving at all now that they were in formation -- except for two figures who appeared suddenly from the center, and hurried together down the beach. 

Gladio recognized them both in an instant: Noctis's familiar gait, uneven despite how hard he tried to hide it; Ignis at his back, his posture effortlessly straight and hovering ever within arm's reach of his king. The two halted at the edge of the water to point in the direction of the approaching boat, and Gladio's spirits soared at the sight.

"It's okay, Prompto! It's Noct and Iggy. They're my friends." 

"Fe...ns." 

" _ Friends _ . It means we're safe." Bringing one of the oars into the boat, he reached down instead to take Prompto's hand in his own. He squeezed, reassuring him, as he pointed to the figures on the shore. "Let me go ahead first, just to be sure. Stay close behind me, yeah?" 

He couldn't be sure if the merman understood or not, but they were so close at this point that being extra protective was probably overkill. Prompto would be fine. They'd made it home at last.

The boat reached shallow enough water that Gladio could jump over the side and push it the rest of the way up to the beach. Wading through the tide, he could already see the looks of surprise -- and, in Noct's case, annoyance -- written on the welcome party's faces. Gladio laughed as his king tromped out into the water to meet him. 

"Where in the hells -- it's fine, Specs, we can wash the cape -- where have you been?" Noctis put his hands on his hips in a way that he probably hoped was intimidating. It wasn't. "I got your letter yesterday, right before I heard you'd  _ abandoned _ your team back at Caem and had everyone freaking out about some weird rumor? Something about you eloping with a fish, whatever that means, and--" 

"Nice to see you were worried about me, Your Majesty," Gladio smirked.

"Don't change the subject, only I get to do that. What happened to the orders I gave you? What made you run off in the...middle of...the...night…." 

Noct trailed off. His wavering voice gave way to a look of utter shock as he fixed his gaze on something beyond Gladio's shoulder. Something splashing excitedly up towards the beach, no doubt at the breathtaking speed of a merman who didn't quite understand the effect his appearance had on unsuspecting humans. Prompto swam right up to Gladio's side in a rush of sea spray, and flashed Noct his brightest smile. 

" _ Fen! _ Prompto,  _ fen! _ " 

"Your Majesty. Ignis," Gladio grinned at the looks of amazement on both of their faces. "Meet Prompto. He's very happy to make your acquaintances, and I think he's asking if you'll be his friends." 

"Woah," Noct said, eyes wide. Beside him, Ignis hid his own astonishment behind his hand as he pretended to adjust his glasses. 

"Y-yes, well. I take it  _ this _ is who you wrote about in your letter? Noctis, I think we ought to invite our guest inside, don't you?"

The king, a slow, magical smile spreading across his face, nodded. "Definitely. Welcome to your new home, Prompto. Any friend of Gladio's is a friend of ours." 

* * *

Epilogue

* * *

Training ended with the ringing of a bell in the Citadel's grounds. Gladio finished his last push up -- number two hundred and eight by his count -- and sat up to wipe the sweat from his brow. It had been a hard day, but the ache in his muscles was a familiar one. It meant he'd more than earned the rest that lay ahead of him. 

Saluting the ranks of soldiers still struggling to their feet in the grass, he hurried to the baths for a quick wash. In times past, he might have lounged around with the others, taken his time to soak the stress from his limbs. But these days, he had better places to be in his free time. 

Well,  _ one  _ better place. Namely, the palace gardens, which stretched out behind the Citadel in the form of a man-made paradise. Trees, colorful flowers from all over Eos, even a waterfall and a stream cutting through the thick grass. It was a slice of nature right in the heart of the Crown City. And, to Gladio, it was his new home away from home. 

He found Prompto right where he expected him to be on a comfortable summer evening: splashing in the garden fountain while Luna, his tutor, read to him from a book nearby. The pair caught sight of his approach at the same time. 

Luna, smiling, closed her book, while Prompto excitedly raised himself up onto the fountain's ledge. Behind him, his tail swished in the shallow water. "Gladio came! Happy!" 

"He's hardly been able to focus today, he's been so eager to see you," Luna explained as Gladio, leaning in to accept a sweet, wet kiss from his merman's lips, chuckled. "How long will you be staying this time, General?”

“Got the night off,” he grinned. “The Marshal ordered full leave for the troops this weekend. And I couldn’t think of anywhere I’d rather spend it than right here.” 

Prompto grasped enough of the answer to pinch his bottom lip between his teeth in excitement. 

“I suppose that means we’ll have to stop the lesson here, then. I’ll be back on Monday to pick up where we left off.” Tucking her book -- a collection of stories about the Astrals, judging from the cover -- under one arm, Luna politely stood and brushed off the lap of her simple white dress. She bowed her head to Gladio, then favored Prompto with a bright smile. “And don’t forget to practice those new words we studied today. I’m sure Gladiolus would love to hear them later." 

"Yes!" Prompto agreed, and giggled. 

Taking a seat on the polished marble, Gladio stroked his hand down the length of the merman’s body. He let his fingers come to rest near the small of his back, where soft skin began to harden with smooth scales. "New words? I’m all ears now." 

“Oh,  _ ah _ , perhaps later…?” Luna started to interject.

“Now!” Blue-green eyes studied Gladio for a moment with deep interest. "I...want…," he began, his lips and tongue working carefully to reproduce the new sounds. "Gladio... _ pee-nis _ ." 

His breath left him in a single wheeze. Nearby, Luna hid her face behind her book as she fell into a bubbling fit of laughter. Prompto, meanwhile, continued to stare up at Gladio expectantly, as if he'd just said the most romantic thing in the world to his blushing human. 

"Hu…!  _ Lady Lunafreya!  _ Why would you teach him  _ that _ ?" Gladio threw his free hand up to his face in exasperation. "You're both trying to kill me, aren't you?" 

"He absolutely insisted on knowing what it was called!" Luna managed through uncontrollable laughter. 

"You couldn't teach him a more  _ subtle _ way to say it!?" 

" _ Penis!"  _ Prompto announced again, clearly very proud of himself. And, fair enough, Gladio supposed. Nothing about his mer-lover was subtle to begin with, from his glittering fish-like tail to his gorgeous seafoam eyes, to the bright yellow hair on the top of his head. If he expected any different, he might as well date one of those boring, prickly scholars holed up in their libraries upstairs. 

"Okay, okay," he conceded, still feeling the warmth in his cheeks. "But let's not use that one in front of Noct and Igs, alright? I’ll  _ never  _ live it down." 

Once Luna had recovered, she finished excusing herself to give the two some much deserved time alone. Prompto lifted himself easily out of the water, and led Gladio the short distance to the garden's stream. While it was hardly the deep, open oceans he was used to, the water was cool, and clear, and he smiled as he rolled playfully just beneath the surface. 

Gladio watched him with a warm smile on his face. "I'd love to join you in there for a swim, but how about a break first?" 

Following the water upstream past azaleas, willows, and strategically placed rocks led them into a private glade of sorts. Noctis had installed it not long after Prompto first arrived at the Citadel. He'd said, at the time, that it was for the sake of the groundskeepers, who were tired of stumbling upon the two of them in compromising positions behind the bushes. But, as that had only actually happened once, Gladio knew it had been more of a housewarming present from a good friend. 

Now, as he stretched out on the soft grass at the banks of the stream, he was grateful for the king's forward thinking. Above, the last of the day's sunlight filtered down from the garden skylights, through the leaves of the trees to paint them both in light and shadow. 

"So, sounds like you had a pretty busy day," he hummed, shifting so that Prompto could more comfortably settle down against his chest. His tail hung down into the water, the tendrils of his fins fluttering almost feather-like in the stream's gentle current. "Did you talk about anything today with Luna that  _ won't _ embarrass the heck outta me?" 

Wet fingers glided over his shirt, up to curl around the necklace of shells and sea glass he always wore. A familiar, possessive touch as the merman considered the question. "Yes," he answered after a moment. "Sea." 

"The sea? You mean the sea of Accordo, where you came from?" 

Prompto shook his head slowly. "Gralea sea. Far, cold. Mountains and ice." 

"Gralea, huh. So Luna told you about Niflheim?" A nod against his shoulder. "And how we're at war with the Empire?" 

"What's... _ wor _ ?" 

"Hmm. Guess she left out some parts. Don't worry, Prom." He turned, pressing his lips to the top of damp blond hair. "There's nothing worth learning from the way humans fight each other. Tell me more about the sea instead." 

For a long while, Prompto was happy to talk for him. He loved words, loved how they felt in his mouth and sounded to his ears. He loved to play with them, to collect them and string them together like pearls with his tongue to form meaning. Words like  _ deep _ and  _ clear _ and  _ warm _ were some of his favorites, because they evoked memories of times when he was happy. But there were other words he didn't like to use.  _ Alone. Scared.  _ They held sad meanings, and weakened his voice when he said them aloud. They reminded him of the first time he was taken away from everything he'd ever known. 

Gladio noticed the emotion catching there when Prompto spoke, and hugged him closer to his chest. "It sounds beautiful. I'd love to see it for myself. Maybe one day we can visit your home again together." 

"Home?" Prompto gazed up at his human with the question in his eyes. "Home is here." 

"It means a lot to me that you like it so much, Prom, but are you…sure this is enough? I mean," he continued in answer to the look of confusion he was given. "The Citadel is great, but it's small compared to the world out there. I want to make sure you're happy." 

"Happy," Prompto confirmed. "Happy, happy. Gladio is here."

Gladio knew he was pushing his luck. But after all the time that had passed, and all the weeks and months they'd spent here in the gardens, he still couldn't shake Ezma's final words to him.  _ He's a free spirit. He doesn't belong in a cage.  _ Well, the castle was hardly a fish bowl, but how long before Prompto began to long for the waters outside these walls? 

"I'm happy, too, baby. Really. But…don't you ever miss the sea?" 

The merman shifted. Pushed himself further up onto the grass until he was hovering directly above Gladio, hands splayed out across his chest. "Friends here. Luna, Noct, Iggy. Gladio is here. Home." Smiling, he traced his finger in a circle just above Gladio's left breast, where his heart beat strong and full. "Gladio is my sea." 

He had no words for that. Softly, reverently, he pulled Prompto down into his arms, and kissed him as the sun sank beyond the walls of the city. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah, Prompto :') 
> 
> Thank you so much for reading all the way to the end! Like I mentioned at the top of the page, there are already plans in the works for a sequel to this story! Be sure to subscribe here on AO3 (to me as an author, not this fic, as I'll be posting it separately) if you want updates, and I'd be ever so thrilled if you gave me a follow on Twitter as well (@ Lhugy2) 
> 
> Here's what I can share about the ongoing series:   
> \- Prompto has a big sad   
> \- Ardyn, a sea witch in disguise, appears to offer Prom a solution  
> \- In exchange for human legs, Prompto has to give up something...but who needs dumb old memories, anyway?   
> \- He can now frolic, he is a happy boy  
> \- Too bad he can't seem to recognize the nice, handsome guy with the tattoos who always comes to visit him....   
> \- Gladio has a big sad :'(   
> \- Something also about the war with Niflheim, plenty of side Ignoct, and our favorite trash uncle being a smarmy bitch~ 
> 
> Hope you stick around for more!!

**Author's Note:**

> "Hey, Gladio. Do you like fish sticks?"


End file.
